Warner Archive Collection New Releases Nov. 19: Singing Shorts & TV Fli

 
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CLASSIC SHORTS FROM THE DREAM FACTORY VOLUME TWO (1929-46) We heard the cries of “Encore!” following the release of Classic Musical Shorts from the Dream Factory, and so we are pleased to present this rollicking follow-up volume of mostly musical shorts produced by MGM. Two-reel Technicolor extravaganzas, one-reel earthy “Tabloid Musicals,” show-stopping MGM Revues and more are waiting in the wings in this 3-Disc Collection of 36 Theatrical Shorts featuring performances from vaudeville greats and future celluloid superstars like Shaw and Lee, Jack Benny, Ann Rutherford, Dennis Morgan, Deanna Durbin, Dick Winslow, Arthur Lake and Judy Garland.


TIME FOR TNT

DINNER AT EIGHT (1989) The George Kaufman/Edba Ferber comedy of manners, famously brought to the screen by George Cukor with a spectacular cast of early Talkie all-stars, gets another all-star treatment in this late 80s update. A shipping magnate (John Mahoney) fights to save his business while his supercilious spouse (Marsha Mason) struggles with setting up a dinner party for a pair of Brit VIPs. As the guest list takes shape, secrets and romantic intrigues abound amongst the invitees. Also stars Lauren Bacall, Harry Hamlin, Charles Durning, Ellen Greene, and Joel Brooks.

CRAZY FROM THE HEART (1991) Christine Lahti and Reuben Blades star in ths romantic comedy about a mismatched pair of lovers, one a Southern born school principal, the other a Mexican American janitor. After the pair abruptly wed during a romantic idyll south of the border, they return to face opposition from town, family and jilted football coach boyfriends (William Russ). TV titan Thomas Schlamme directs, with Mary Kay Place and Bibi Besch.

FINAL VERDICT (1991) Treat Williams stars as real-life superstar criminal defense attorney Earl Rogers (the inspiration for Perry Mason) in this rock solid courtroom/family drama based on his daughter’s memoir. While juggling two difficult murder trials, Rogers plummits into a personal Siege Perilous when a rift divides him from his minister father (Glenn Ford in his final role) and a case that sets some private demons loose. Olivia Burnette co-stars as Rogers’ daughter Nora.

YOUNG CATHERINE (1991) Vanessa Redgrave and Christopher Plummer lead a cast of luminaries in this mini-series look at the politics and passion surrounding the ascension of Catherine the Great in Russia. A young German noblewoman (Julia Ormond) is married off to Grand Duke Peter (Reece Dinsdale), the future ruler of Russia, only to find herself unwelcome in the royal court and the royal bed. Accepting the tutelage of Sir Charles Williams (Plummer), Catherine takes on a lover and the Empress Elizabeth (Redgrave) to ascend the throne. Also stars Maximilian Schell, Franco Nero and Marthe Keller.

THE MAN WHO CAPTURED EICHMANN (1996) Arliss Howard stars as Mossad agent Peter Malkin in the story of Adolf Eichmann’s (Robert Duvall) extraction from Argentina. A painstaking portrait of the meticulous and dangerous undercover operation, the film digs into the desperate effort to bring the Nazi to trial for his actions. Robert Duvall’s searing portrayal of a man awash in social mores and bereft of anchored ethos moves the proceeding from the procedural to the penetrating. Also stars Jeffrey Tambor, Joel Brooks, Jack Laufer and Rusty Schwimmer.

THE HUNCHBACK (1997) Mandy Patinkin, Salma Hayek and Richard Harris play the central triangle of grotesque, gypsy and monsignor in this shot in Eastern Europe adaptation of the oft’ filmed Victo Hugo classic. Patinkin’s Quasimodo rises to Laughton levels of heartbreak, while Hayek’s Esmeralda’s enchantments lie as much as in her inner grace as outer. Harris, meanwhile, is a thoroughly risible villain and thus an absolute demonic delight. Peter Medak directs.

BABY (2000) Farrah Fawcett serves up one of her finest, most sensitive performances in this transformative tale of a family granted temporary stewardship of a baby. Lily (Fawcett) and John Malone (Keith Carradine) have not fully confronted their grief over the loss of their infant son, while daughter Lark (Alison Pill) and grandmother Byrd (Jean Stapleton) are wary over the state of their family. When a baby is left on their doorstep, their capacity for love is tested and stretched, but the Malones have an extra measure.

NOTE: These DVDs are Manufactured on Demand (MOD); to order, fans must visit The Warner Archive Collection or WB Shop.com

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